One of the pressures of conducting a newspaper interview reposes is pursuing a line of questioning that elicits responses that allow for the creation of a logical order in which you set down what you are told. The process, depending on the complexity of the subject of the interview can sometimes be tedious. If the outcome is to be an acceptable one, the process requires planning, often, meticulous planning. There are times when, as a journalist, you neglect to plan; you do so at your own risk. Planning includes securing an understanding of both the interviewee and the issues that are likely to arise.
When, however, you come to believe that you are a sufficiently experienced journalist you venture, sometimes, to alter the rules of the game. Sometimes, you underestimate the magnitude of the undertaking, relying on your journalistic ‘smarts’ to hold your own; and when the interviewee is a nineteen year-old student who has only just completed
